Not the first trip to be cancelled

THIS is not the first time a government minister has been forced to cancel an international trip on the orders of the president.

In 2007, former president Thabo Mbeki forced then deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge to return from an unauthorised trip to Spain.

She was instructed to pay the Department of Health more than R312 000, which was spent on the trip.

The office of President Jacob Zuma yesterday ordered Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to cancel an investment promotion roadshow to the UK and US, and return to South Africa immediately.

In 2007, Madlala-Routledge was forced to resign, and part of her salary for one month was withheld to cover expenses for the trip.

Former health spokesperson Sibani Mngadi had said at the time that former health director-general Thami Mseleku had demanded that Madlala-Routledge must pay R312 000, which had been spent on flight tickets for her, for her son and for an adviser.

Madlala-Routledge had told the media that Mbeki dismissed her for an “unannounced visit to East London’s Frere Hospital” and her “unauthorised trip to Madrid”.

Her dismissal sparked an outcry from HIV/Aids lobby groups and opposition parties, who regarded her as an inspiration in the fight against the killer disease.

Although Zuma’s spokesperson Bongani Ngqulunga had not explained why Gordhan had been ordered to return home, there were unconfirmed media reports that their trip had not been authorised.

bongani.hans@inl.co.za